Bilfinger reaches settlement with US Department of Justice

December 09, 2013

Bilfinger has reached a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in relation to the bribery of public officials in Nigeria which dates back to 2003. The subject of the investigation was a series of events in connection with a pipeline project carried out by the former subsidiary Gas and Oil Services Nigeria in a joint venture with an American company. Gas and Oil Services has since been wound up.

Under the Agreement, the DOJ will initiate criminal proceedings and Bilfinger will admit to violations of the American Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The proceedings will be suspended and dismissed at the end of the three-year term of the Agreement on condition that Bilfinger continues the process of optimizing its compliance system, a process that has been pursued intensively in recent years, with the participation of an independent compliance monitor who is to be appointed for a period of 18 months. Bilfinger will also pay a fine in the equivalent of €23.3 million. The company has made sufficient provisions to cover this amount.

Bilfinger cooperated with the DOJ in the investigation of the charges. "We are pleased that we have now been able to put these events from the distant past behind us. In recent years, Bilfinger has consistently expanded its compliance instruments and today has a modern and efficient system", explains Roland Koch, Chief Executive Officer of Bilfinger SE.

Within the scope of its strategic alignment toward engineering and services, Bilfinger significantly reduced its investments in the Nigerian business in 2012. The company has already reduced its stake in Julius Berger Nigeria PLC (JBN), headquartered in Abuja, from an initial level of approx. 49 percent to the current level of approx.33 percent. In addition, Bilfinger has sold 90 percent of shares in Julius Berger International GmbH, headquartered in Wiesbaden, to JBN.